For more than a decade now, some of the biggest and most beloved musicians in the South Korean music industry have been making inroads in the United States, which has been the largest music market in the world for a long, long time. As each year passes, the list of acts that have charted on Billboard’s Hot 100, the most important songs ranking in America, grows. The number of names that have managed to appear on the tally at least once is steadily increasing bit-by-bit, and 2021 has already turned out to be the biggest period yet for K-pop acts just breaking in the U.S., thanks to the incredible success enjoyed by three women.
The first woman in the K-pop field to reach the Hot 100 with a debut smash this year was Rosé, better known as one of the four members of the South Korean band Blackpink. The singer went solo in the spring with two songs, one of which quickly found its way to the all-encompassing singles tally in the U.S., as “On the Ground” peaked at No. 70. With that one win, she became just the second solo female K-pop musician to appear on the list at all.
Just a few weeks ago, she was joined in this incredible showing by one of her group mates. Lisa, another Blackpink member, pushed her solo smash “Lalisa” to No. 84, where it held for one frame. She stands as just the third solo female musician known primarily for her work in K-pop to appear on the Hot 100 at any point. Now, half of the women in the quartet have reached the tally, and that number could improve in the future.
Just last week, South Korean girl group Twice landed their first win on the Hot 100 as well, following Lisa by just two frames. The band’s new single “The Feels,” marketed as their first proper English release, blasted onto the ranking of the most popular tracks in America at No. 83. In doing so, the troupe became just the third K-pop girl group to find their way to the list, following behind both Blackpink and Wonder Girls.
On average, one K-pop act makes it to the Hot 100 for the first time every year, with some of the most popular names like Blackpink and BTS racking up hit after hit. In 2020, the lucky name was Suga (working under the name Agust D), who is primarily known as one of the seven members of BTS. Before now, 2019 was the biggest year on record for K-pop acts arriving on the Hot 100, as both Pinkfong (“Baby Shark”) and J-Hope (“Chicken Noodle Soup” with Becky G) collected their historic first placements on the 100-rung list.
